The Arrest
Harry was on his way out of the great hall when they arrived. Another minute and he probably could have avoided a large spectacle. But a spectacle is exactly what these men wanted. Five ministry employees stood at the doors leading into the great hall. Four were dressed in Auror robes while the fifth was wearing robes that Harry had come to expect to see on an older high-class pureblood wizard.
The aurors had their wands at the ready. They were scanning the great hall and when they spotted Dumbledore, they gave him their full attention. However, the elder wizard with the fancier robes spotted Harry and gave him a rather unsettling grin. The man squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest. Harry had a foreboding feeling that he wasn’t going to like why these men have shown up in the middle of dinner.
“Harry Potter! You are under arrest,” the elder wizard stated loudly. The auror immediately to the man’s right, turned his attention to where Harry stood and quickly aimed his wand at the boy.
The great hall grew quiet. Those that had not noticed the ministry employees enter the hall were suddenly notified not only of their presence but also their reason for being there. The students alternated watching the aurors and Harry, who had frozen a few feet from the Gryffindor table. He stood near Ron and Hermione who had been leaving the hall with him.
Harry blinked a few times, not sure if he had heard correctly.
“What?” he asked blankly. The entire hall was so silent that Harry heard his own heartbeat. It was pounding in his chest.
“You are under arrest for casting the cruciatus curse on Bellatrix Lestrange last June,” stated the auror who has his wand trained on Harry. While the man didn’t have the same dramatic flair as the other wizard, his voice was loud and clear as it carried across the hall.
The auror took two steps towards Harry before Dumbledore’s voice rang across the hall causing the auror to pause momentarily.
“Wait Auror Perkins, Mr. Runecraft,” Dumbledore interjected. “You can’t possibly mean to arrest the boy.”
Harry thought that Auror Perkins seemed inclined to agree with Dumbledore but that could be wishful thinking. Mr. Runecraft, on the other hand, was clearly annoyed at the interruption.
“Yes, Albus, I do,” he again puffed out his chest importantly. Under different circumstances Harry might be amused by the man’s peacock impression. As it was, Harry’s stomach was in knots and he was desperately wishing that Professor Dumbledore will be able to get him out of this.
Mr. Runecraft turned towards Harry and asked, “Do you deny casting the unforgivable curse?” His words sounded innocent enough but Harry felt a touch of maliciousness it in.
“Don’t answer that Harry,” Hermione advised. At her words, Mr. Runecraft immediately turned his attention towards her and he smirked unkindly.
“Miss Granger?” he asked.
“Yes,” Hermione confirmed.
“Good, good. This will save us some time searching for you. Auror Bole has some questions for you about your involvement in the ministry break-in last June,” Runecraft stated. The auror on the far left turned his attention on Hermione. He didn’t look as reluctant to be there as Auror Perkins did.
Hermione inhaled sharply causing Harry to instinctively step in front of her protectively despite knowing on some level that she was likely better equipped to handle this situation than he was. He could barely process what was happening.
“Albus, we will also need to question Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Ronald Weasley, and Ginevra Weasley about their involvement in the ministry break-in,” Runecraft stated clearly.
At this pronouncement, some of the teachers started voicing their protests. Dumbledore moved around the head table and started making his way towards the ministry employees.
“Auror Bole, Auror Perkins,” Runecraft nodded towards Harry, Hermione and Ron. As both aurors started making their way towards them, Harry glanced at professor Dumbledore for guidance but the man’s attention was on Runecraft.
When Perkins reached Harry, he kindly but forcefully pulled Harry’s hands behind his back. He tapped his wand against Harry’s wrists and Harry felt something constrict against them. A slight tug confirmed that they were confined together. Perkins started patting Harry down. He quickly found Harry’s wand and pocketed it much to Harry’s discomfort.
Perkins stepped back from Harry but kept a hand on Harry’s arm. Harry noticed that Bole had a similar hold on Hermione, though her hands weren’t tied behind her back.
“Ronald Weasley?” Bole asked Ron. At Ron’s confirmation, Bole grabbed his arm as well. The man was large and muscular and could probably subdue both of Harry’s friends if need be. He started guiding them towards the other aurors and Perkins followed suit with Harry.
Dumbledore and Runecraft were heatedly talking. Dumbledore was trying to converse quietly but the student body was so completely focused on the whole scene that his and Runecraft’s voices still carried across the hall.
“The ministry takes these types of crimes seriously. Potter must be held accountable for his actions,” Runecraft stated as Harry was guided towards them.
“The circumstances-” started Dumbledore but Runecraft cut him off.
“His notoriety does not exempt him from the law,” announced Runecraft.
“He’s just a boy!” interjected Madame Pomphrey. Some of the teachers had followed Dumbledore towards the ministry workers. Harry was touched that Pomphrey was sticking up for him as well.
“A boy who cast an unforgivable,” dismissed Runecraft. “The law does not state that the cruciatus curse is an unforgivable curse only for those who’ve reached maturity. Children are not exempted, madam.”
Although Runecraft had already stated why Harry was being arrested, this reminder caused the hall to finally break into whispers. It seemed that the students had gotten over their initial shock and were now ready to gossip. Harry sent an uneasy glance around the hall. When his eyes landed on the Slytherin table, he expected to see smirks sent his way. Instead he saw the same shock expressed by the other houses and perhaps a bit of sympathy. Even Malfoy wasn’t rejoicing in Harry’s ordeal. Then again, Malfoy hadn’t smiled or smirked much in the last few days. Harry figured that whatever task he had from Voldemort was taking its toll on him.
“Surely the boy couldn’t have successfully cast the cruciatus at his age,” tried professor McGonagall, which brought Harry’s attention back to the ministry workers.
“Our records show Mr. Potter cast the cruciatus on one Bellatrix Lestrange. Duration was only for a couple of seconds,” stated one of the other aurors. Like Bole, the man seemed cold and stern. “Likely he realized that it wasn’t smart to cast such a curse on ministry grounds and cancelled it. Too late, I’m afraid.”
Harry wanted to argue that he had not cancelled it but rather that the cruse had not worked for him. He held his tongue though knowing that he’d only be digging his own grave if he spoke right now. But the temptation to speak in his defense was strong so instead he turned away from the ministry workers. That left him once again looking towards the student body. His eyes landed on Malfoy out of habit, having spent the majority of the year so far observing the slytherin and trying to figure out what he was up to. Unlike the rest of the year, it seemed like he finally had Malfoy’s full attention. Too bad Harry couldn’t be happy about it at the moment.
Malfoy looked shocked. Harry didn’t know if it was because Harry was being arrested or because he hadn’t thought Harry would cast any unforgivables. With more than a little bitterness, Harry wondered how many of the slytherins in Malfoys little group had cast unforgivables. None of them were being arrested for it.
“It is also not the boy’s first infraction,” continued the auror. “Just before his second year, there was a levitation charm used at his muggle relatives’ residence. The-“
“That was a house elf!” Harry angrily cut in, finally unable to censor himself. Why were they bringing that up again? Hadn’t they covered it in his trial last year?
“Yes, that incident has been examined already. It should have been struck from his record,” Dumbledore cut in and gave Harry a warning look. Harry knew he should remain quiet and let Dumbledore take care of this. It really was too bad Harry was never good at keeping his anger in check.
“Yes, well… we have not forgotten the incident before the boy’s fifth year,” stated the auror.
“That was dementors,” Harry interrupted despite the warning look he had received. This time his voice wasn’t as angry though he knew his tone clearly expressed that he thought the auror was an idiot. Probably not the best way to go either. “One was about to kiss my cousin. Do you think-“
“That matter has also been dealt with,” stated Dumbledore, cutting Harry off before he could get himself into too much trouble.
“Ah! But it speaks to Potter’s character and his previous delinquent behaviour,” stated Runecraft. Harry bristled at that. How could saving himself and his cousin count as delinquent behaviour? It was Umbridge all over again. Harry wondered if she is the one responsible for sending the ministry after him now.
“I believe we professors are best suited to speak of Mr. Potter’s character,” stated McGonagall.
“Then perhaps you can attend his trial as character witnesses. In the meantime, Potter will be taken into custody. Now, there are five other students we need to question about their involvement in the break in at the ministry,” Runecraft reminded everyone. Bole pushed forward with Ron and Hermione.
“Where is Mr. Longbottom, Miss Lovegood, and Miss Weasley?” Runecraft asked. The professors raised new protests, especially when they noticed how tightly Bole was holding on to Hermione’s arm. Neville had stood up on his own and was making his way towards the aurors. Harry wasn’t sure where Luna and Ginny were. He didn’t have time to look around either as one of the aurors nodded to Perkins and the man started leading Harry out of the great hall.
“Professor-“ Harry tried to catch Dumbledore’s attention, but the auror whose name Harry didn’t know pushed his shoulder and forcibly guided Harry along. They were out of the hall and on the grounds before Harry thought about properly resisting.